Jamie, managing director of Anderson Entertainment said fans of his father’s iconic shows such as Space: 1999, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Thunderbirds are the behind the funding.

“We’ve now raised nearly double the sum aimed for, smashing through four of our stretch goals, allowing us to make an even longer, more explosive pilot than we originally hoped for,” Jamie said in a statement.

“Over 1,400 fans from all over the world have rallied round and allowed us to take my dad’s project forward in an even bigger and better way than we’d planned for, so we’ll now have security drones and extra characters and scenes, including a huge explosion of evil Black Orchid’s island headquarters.”

Many of the puppets used in Gerry’s shows were made in Birmingham in the 1960s.

Puppeteer John Blundall, who died earlier this year, created characters for Thunderbirds, Stingray, Fireball XL5 and more at the Cannon Hill Puppet Theatre at the Mac.

For the Firestorm revamp, puppets will come to life with the help of MacKinnon and Saunders, puppet makers and animation producers in Altrincham, greater Manchester.

Gerry gave Ian Mackinnon his first paid job working on the pilot of Space Police in the 1980s.

The Firestorm pilot will use a combination of puppetry, practical effects, physical props and sets and model miniatures.